Customer Reviews

Songs in Red and Gray

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With some albums, to fully enjoy them takes some extra knowledge that you have to acquire outside of the tracks and liner notes themselves. For example, Eric Clapton's "Layla" is a beautiful song, but it becomes something more when you learn that Clapton wrote it as a love song to his best friend's wife. Similarly, Fleetwood Mac's album Rumours contains all sorts of hidden messages sent by the three songwriters of the group to their respective exes: Buckingham to Nicks, "packing up, shacking up's all you want to do" from "Go Your Own Way" and Nicks to Buckingham, "players only love you when they're playing" from "Dreams." Some are obvious--Roger Water's paeon to his father in Pink Floyd's The Final Cut--while others take a kind of fanaticism to decipher (the ongoing battle between John Fogarty and his ex-manager in songs like "Zanz Kant Danz").

Between Suzanne Vega's last studio offering, 1996's Nine Objects of Desire, and this release, several things occurred in her life that provided the germ for the songs and the tone of Songs in Red and Gray. Both her two previous albums had been produced by her husband, Mitchell Froom (they had married in 1994, between the two albums he produced), but the new album is produced with Rupert Hine. Vega also separated from Froom in 1998, retaining custody of their daughter, Ruby Froom.

The change in producers is the first thing you notice as you start listening to Songs in Red and Gray, which sounds much more like Vega's first couple of albums in their intimacy and the relationship between Vega's soft vocal and the accompiament. While it's not a total return--most of the songs sport more than the sparse guitar and soft synthesizer work that is the focus of songs like "Marlene on the Wall" or "Knight Moves" (both from her eponymous first album)--there's nothing like the industrial clanging or heavily sampled guitar that Froom brought to "Blood Makes Noise" (from 99.9F) and "No Cheap Thrill" (from Nine Objects of Desire). Froom's production was complicated and took a lot of risks, some of which worked, but often was at odds with the kind of folk tradition of Vega's compositions and lyrics. Some of this risk is still present in Hine's production, but it is much more muted, such as the syncopated backbeat in "Solitaire" and the calliope sound that bridges the lyrics of "Machine Ballerina."

Once you start listening to the lyrics, however, you start to get glimpses of the aftermath of Froom and Vega's partnership that is not part of her sound but that of her life. The results is often startingly confessional, masked only by the smoothness of her delivery and the softness of her tone, which makes even what could be the harshest criticism somewhat reflective and apologetic. We shouldn't be too surprised--I find it hard to imagine Vega ripping someone to shreds a la Elvis Costello.

Consider these lines from "If I Were a Weapon":

if you were a weapon
a hammer's what you'd be
blunt and heavy at the end
and coming down on me

or even this from "Machine Ballerina":

Am I an afternoon's pastime?
a thing on a string
to be thrown and retrieved
like a phone call received
on somebody's birthday
to tease and delight
and then say goodnight
and then just say goodbye?

What leavens these kinds of accusations are the parts where Vega reveals her complicity in the breakup, from acknowledging that the fault wasn't necessarily in Froom that makes up the strongest song on this album, "Soap and Water." In it, she sings to her daughter, "Daddy's a dark riddle/Mama's a handful of thorns/you are my little kite/caught up again in the household storms." This ability to reflect on how the change might be affecting her child is one of Vega's strengths, to remove herself from the scene while also being a participant. Like a good novelist, she strives to discover not only the motivation of her narrator, but also the other characters in her passion play.

This is not an album that is instantly rewarding, as nothing here has the instant hook of "Luka" or "Tom's Diner." On repeated listens, however, it insinuates itself inside your psyche until you start to admire not only the phrasing but also the gentle way it is presented to you.

Suzanne Vega has long been one of my favorite singer/songwriters, much more original and sharp in her lyrics and music than many other female folk singers. I was surprised to see that this album aroused such irritation in many of her fans, and I almost didn't buy it after reading the reviews on Amazon. Luckily, it was playing in a local music store and on hearing it in full I snapped it up; I think it's one of her best. Certainly, there's no question that it can't compare either to her debut, _Suzanne Vega_, or to the brilliant and original _Nine Objects of Desire_. But put side by side with any other album from Ms. Vega's catalogue, Songs in Red and Gray more than holds its own. Like the rest of her work, this album has its hits and its misses. I particularly like the religious commitment of "Penitent," the ironic honesty of "Widow's Walk," the Mitchell-Froom-esque harshness of "If I Were a Weapon," and the sheer playfulness of the sound on "I'll Never Be Your Maggie May" and of "Last Year's Troubles." The song that really gets to me though is "Soap and Water." Here Suzanne Vega is at her lyrical best, crooning to her daughter in the middle of a painful divorce, "Daddy's a dark riddle/Mama's a headful of bees/You are my little kite/Carried away in a wayward breeze." These are fresh, original metaphors, showing Vega's much-vaunted poetic side. On the other hand, I was happy to see that overall, Vega's lyrics have become more straightforward, less obscure, not pandering by any means, but confident that their simplicity and spareness will carry all the nuances of feeling she wishes to express. Her voice, too, sounds as clear and controlled as ever. The music doesn't SOUND like it did on 99.9 degrees Fahrenheit or Nine Objects, of course--she has a different producer. But that doesn't condemn the album in my mind; just because it's different doesn't mean it's worse. Give this CD chance; after a few days you'll see that, like a cut flower, it's opened its petals to show its full, astonishing beauty.

Few albums have touched me and knocked my socks off at the same time as this one has. This is by far her best songwriting since Suzanne Vega and Solitude Standing. I have enjoyed all of her albums, but these songs have a rawness, intimacy and intensity that I have rarely ever seen. On top of that, the musical arrangements framing the lyrics are perfect - not over done, not underdone. You can "feel" the emotion before she starts singing. I am not a professional critic, but I would say this is a flawless album. Pure Suzanne in the lyrics and her songwriting has reached a maturity and level of excellence that all of her fans have been watching her work towards.

Suzanne Vega's "Songs in Red and Gray" is very obviously the product of a break-up--or more specifically, a divorce. But where some songwriters may have ended up with an angst-y, self-absorbed, uninventive album, Suzanne Vega created a very polished, artistic, original and expressive album. Many songs are heartbreakingly sad, some bitter, but the overall tone of the cd is one of renewal and the deep wisdom that comes only with pain. Technically, the album is complex and smooth, flowing from one song to the next. Emotionally, the album is both painful and soothing, very cathartic. Each song has the strong feeling of some stage in the aftermath of a failed relationship--from anger to questioning to sadness to fragile strength to acceptance and wisdom.

The lyrics are inventive, using new metaphors and very descriptive phrases to describe emotions that could otherwise come off as generic. There are so many lyrical gems in these songs, at least one that strikes me in every song. In Widow's Walk ("Consider me a widow, boys and I will tell you why. It's not the man, but it's the marriage that was drowned."), Vega speaks of being a widow, not of a dead husband, but of a dead marriage. Soap and Water begins, "Soap and water take the day from my hand scrub the salt from my stinging skin slip me loose of this wedding band" and the refrain of "Daddy's a dark riddle, Mama's a head full of bees, you are my little kite, carried away in the wayward breeze" is heart wrenching. The light-hearted tune and contrasting lyrics of (I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May hit me immediately. I thought that the lines, "I'll never be your Maggie May, the one you loved and then forgot, I'll love you first and let you go, because it must be so, and you'll forgive or you will not" were simple and perfect. Last Year's Troubles is catchy and cute, but the theme is very true: "last years troubles they shine up so pretty, they gleam with a luster they don't have today, here it's just dirty and violent and troubling, etc". I am constantly impressed by the way Suzanne Vega expresses such simple and true ideas/emotions in ways that keep me listening.

I could say something about every song on this album...but I won't. It's one of those things you have to hear for yourself. It sneaks up on you, revealing something new and wonderful with each listen. I give Suzanne Vega a lot of credit for writing and album that is--on an emotional level--so raw and honest. I thank her for making it--on a musical level--so beautiful to hear.

Suzanne Vega continues to grow as an artist, and I can't think of one of her recordings that wasn't better than the last. "Songs in Red and Gray" is no exception as she comes into a mature middle age. Although I would not take the editorial review here as a guide, the reviewer is right that Ms. Vega has always controlled her voice perfectly and used words with extraordinary precision. What is different now is that her poetry - and no, it will not win a Pulitzer prize, but her verse certainly stands out in the world of pop music - has moved from painting a cool tapestry of New York images 20 years ago to painting a rich world of love and joy and loss today.

For anyone who has experienced the pain of a disintegrating marriage, the fierce tone and intense imagery of "Widow's Walk", "Soap and Water", and "If I Were a Weapon" (reminiscent of "If You Were In My Movie", but with substance) will be intensely evocative, and are the most obvious gems here. This is not just a "divorce album", though. "Penitent" is a deeply moving song of spirituality that could not have been written by a younger Ms. Vega, and touches me to the core. There isn't a song here that isn't strong, though as always there are some I don't understand, however dazzling their images. "Maggie May" doesn't seem to allude to the old Rod Stewart song; his Maggie May left the protagonist, whereas this one is left. It isn't one of my favorites here, but seems to be one of Vega's based on its inclusion in her Retrospective CD and set lists. I do better with her more straightforward material. "Priscilla" is a beautiful childhood story, "Last Year's Troubles" a nice bit of social commentary, and "Solitaire" may be a light song but it captures perfectly the mood of being mesmerized by a late-night game.

Some of the criticisms below may matter more to you than to me. For those who want a pristine guitar and voice sound akin to Ms. Vega's eponymous recording of 20 years ago, wait for a live recording I suppose. Her preference over her last 5 CD's is obviously to use more instrumentation. For those who preferred the 99.9Fº sound, that is obviously gone. But if you are open to a tasteful recording, as always for her, for meticulously-crafted and powerful imagery, as always for her, and for lyrics that rise to a whole new level of maturity and meaning, "Songs in Red and Gray" is a must-have. At this point, Suzanne Vega has a true oeuvre, and this is its culmination. There may be better still to come, but if she were to stop singing today one could not be less than wholly satisfied with what she has produced here.

Prepare to be surprised. This is not the semi-sweet, lyrical Suzanne Vega we have come to expect. In a departure both sharp and volatile, Vega has brought out an arsenal many of us didn't know she had. Although the CD includes a wide variety of instruments and pacing, what strikes the listener right away is the compelling story that is the theme of the piece. The slow destruction of trust and the decay of a marriage. Her own.

We have a history of watching Vega wrap her silken voice around abstract fictional characters and vague notions of love both unrequited and realized. Not here. This is about real life and her own ambiguities; her own relationships. There is no hiding her purpose here- it's "empty out the closet" time.
Vega goes into great detail-excruitating detail at points-to describe love/hate obsession.

from "Soap and Water": "...this wound we call man & wife"

Her confessional is so earnest and her presentation so straightforward we have the feeling we should avert our eyes and ears-look away, like the girl in "Tom's diner"-but we can't.
Vega wants us to know that the ghosts that haunt her work have legs and she walks us through every step. If you hesitate to share in bare bones honesty, this work is not for you. I would bet Vega felt cleansed by this experience of this CD, but the listener gets the feeling scalding was involved.

The power of this piece, the drama, shakes the walls. Not since Peter Gabriel's "SO" has a CD both changed an artist's reputation and defined it at the same time. From now on all her work will be compared to this transparency. Anything less honest than this is the future will seem a pale substitute. I wouldn't blame her if she took a breather.

Suzanne Vega is one of these rare few artists who can sing about a murder and an afternoom's coffeee brake , both sounding totally calm and in peace with herself .Five years after Nine Objects Of Desire comes her new release Songs In Red And Grey which focuses most on her divorce with ex-husband and producer M.Froom . As a result the lyrics are more personal than ever .

Vega looks at you directly in the eye and talks to you about healing " the cut we call husband and wife " . " Although i grieve and i believe i feel it truly / but i knew that ship was empty by the time it hit the rocks " she confesses on the first single of the album " Widow's walk " . Then on " Soap and Water " she sounds so vulnerable when reffering to her own daughter ( " Daddy's a dark riddle / Mama's a headful of bees / you are my little kite / carried away in the waynard breeze " ) . In spite of the fragile situations she choses to sing about , she sounds once more self-confident and full of dignity .

Initialy many complained about the relatively rich production of this album in comparison with Vega's past offerings were the naked , discreet beauty of the guitar was left alone to play the lead role in the songs . Even if there's a truth in that point of view , with the exception of the ( overfilled with loops ) " Solitaire " which sounds like a 99.9F leftover , the rest of the tracklist still shines . Listening to " Songs In Red..." is like reading a letter from an old friend who's telling you all about her latest news . It's so human you can almost feel you can write back...

Suzanne Vega's initial albums established her as a pop star with folk sensibilities, an interesting stage persona, and a frightfully earnest person willing to risk a bit of pretension in pursuit of a good lyrical image. Fans find her graceful, understated and intelligent. Some detractors find her work a bit precious and the lyrics a bit faux "poetic". I've always been in the fan camp. Her retention of Mitchell Froom as her producer on the 99.9 Degrees album marked a departure from the less raucous melodies and production values of her earlier work, as her songs acquired an edgy set of production values. At its best, this new presentation mode helped her break out of the boxes which the restrained production values of her earlier work could create. At its least effective, some of her songs sounded as though they had been put through a mixing board in an MFA project for a studio engineering degree. Artistic adventure sometimes is followed by personal adventure, and Mr. Froom and Ms. Vega ultimately married. We now pick up the plot one divorce and one child later. Songs in Red and Gray is the inevitable breakup album that one might expect a somewhat introspective artist such as Ms. Vega to produce. Contrary to expectations, though, Songs in Red and Gray is consistently strong, notwithstanding its focus on the aftermath of a failed relationship. Rupert Hine seemed to me an odd choice to produce her album, although I greatly respect what he has done for many other artists. Given his popmeister tendencies, I was concerned that Ms. Vega, under Mr. Hine's guidance, would either try to sound like a "hit machine" or that she would be swathed in a twee "folkie" sound altogether too safe. My concerns were entirely unfounded. The mix here puts the acoustic guitar and the voice back in the forefront, and largely eschews the sonic tricks used in the Froom productions to try to add a bit more "relevance" to Ms. Vega's works. The result is a wholly satisfying effort, neither quaint nor poppy. The melodies here are very good, and there is no strain of the artist trying too hard to be radio-relevant. Post-divorce albums are a mainstay of modern pop, and in the past have succeeded both artistically and commercially (indeed, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, one of those rare commercial succeses which is wholly aesthetically satisfying, is in this camp).
Although Ms. Vega's lyrics are bitter in parts, overall this is not a "rant piece" about failed relationships, but a wistful look at failed relationships and their unintended consequences.
She pulls up just a centimeter short of putting any "How Do You Sleep?" songs in, and this album is the least "elusive" set of lyrics she has ever recorded. I must confess I would not miss a future lyrical evolution away from the "headful of bees" her divorce themed songs cover here, but I don't begrudge her speaking about what matters to her. One is tempted to say "this is the old Suzanne Vega", but in reality this album does what she used to do well in her first two albums, but then goes on to evolve into something better. Suzanne Vega's first album of her forties suggests she will be with us in a very good way for many years to come. The divorce theme seems to be a trend these days (my understanding is that also lyric-oriented but quite distinct Liz Phair is embarking on a similar album soon), but this one stands on its own nonetheless. This is a clear buy.

Suzanne Vega's "Songs in Red and Gray" is, in my view, her masterpiece. Gone are the sometimes precious melodies and forced intellectuisms that dulled some of her previous works. Here we have a more world wisely approach gathered from over 22 years in the business. This is her most mature and flowing work to date. The general theme is one of heartbreak and determination of a marriage broke down. Similar in theme to Shawn Colvin's "A few small repairs" but not in tone. The music here is reflective (Soap and Water, Penitent) and persuasive (Last Years Trouble, Maggie May). Each song is a highlight and the change here is that the production is non showy (courtesy of Rupert Hine) in comparison to her ex producer (and ex-husband). The CD concludes with St. Clare (the sole cover) and is a beautiful epitaph to this superb CD. Released soon after 9/11 this CD had an apt resonance and sounds as beautiful now as it ever did with regal lyrics and flowing melodies. I would recommend this to fans and casual browsers alike.

It's amazing how many different opinions you will hear about 1 piece of art, play a CD to 100 different people and you'd be likely to get a different point of view from each. From reading the reviews of this album, I'm sure you'd be confused as to exactly what to expect - an album you'd never be without or another to sell on ebay. Well, I should start by saying this album, for me, is a 5 * album, a mature, sophisticated release by an accomplished musician, who is surely one of the best of the last 20 years.

At it's heart, `Songs In Red and Grey' is a folk record, although it doesn't live within the limits of the genre. It seems fans of Suzanne are pretty well split on whether she should be a lone troubadour with her acoustic guitar or an experimental artist who uses modern techniques to augment a traditional sound. I feel on `Songs In Red and Grey' she covers both territories well, there are many interesting sounds and layers, but at the core of these arrangements are her voice and guitar, lending an intimate feel.

Suzanne's voice is, in it's self, a beautiful instrument, and unmistakably her own - it really shines on these songs. As a songwriter she is second to none, writing 12 of 13 songs here by herself. Each song is well crafted and there is certainly no `filler' material present. Lyrically, she can cut right to the heart of a situation, an emotion, as with all great storytellers - buy this to read the lyrics alone. Musically there is plenty to keep the listener interested, strong melodies and catchy hooks.

If you haven't heard this CD I would urge you to do so, Suzanne Vega is a true musician who has perfected her craft. `Song In Red and Grey' is an artist at the peak of her powers, pass this disc by at your peril.